IMHO, and this is just that, nothing more....
If you want to use Paypal you really need to conform to their business model and be prepared to pay their fees for the service that they offer. Also IMHO, they offer some pretty impressive services for almost free. Try setting up a web site on a free blog, that accepts credit card payments for free, (minus the transaction charge), add to cart, check out, shipping services, and delivery tracking, all there without charge, again, except for the transaction fee. I have done it, and I was amazed what can be done without even owing a domain name.
If you do not want to use Paypal, just check into how much it will cost you to set yourself up to accept debit card and credit card payments on your own outside of Paypal. It is not cheap, Paypal is very cheap in comparison, and very easy to set up.
I set up a separate bank account with my bank to accept payments that I never use to purchase anything using Paypal, so that Paypal account does not have my credit card info,it only accepts incoming moneys. I keep this Paypal account pretty much "drained" into my bank at all times. I also keep this Bank account "drained" as well.
I set up an account on Paypal that I can use to purchase things using only my bank credit card, transactions which I can dispute with my bank if I need to. I DO NOT have my bank account on this Paypal Account, so that no one can ever charge anything back to my bank account if there is a dispute.
Bottom line is, nothing is free. Paypal is not perfect, but is very reasonably priced for the services that they offer, and YOU need to control where the money can flow into and out of your own bank/card accounts.
Did I say this is JMHO, and YMMV?
I don't find Paypal to be evil if I take control of what can happen to me and my accounts.
I guess you could accept certified checks and money orders if that is what you want to accept, but the effort to obtain them and mail them will turn off a lot of modern potential buyers. Everyone wants "instant" results now. Personal checks can be disputed by your buyer for no valid reason.
Just a few things to think about.